Second Chances (closed to LiveFromKorea)

[TheOneThatGotAway]

Josephine Monticello
Age: 18

With a half-eaten S'more Pop Tart hanging out of her mouth, Josie whipped into Rockford Academy's student lot - just in time to hear the initial attendance bell ring. Shit. First day of Senior year, and she was going to be late if she didn't hustle. Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she sprinted for the entrance, thankful she wore running shoes with her uniform instead of her usual Mary Jane's.The white cotton polo at least wicked moisture better during physical activity, but she knew her mother would rip her a new one for being so unladylike, running across the lot with her pleated skirt flying. Five minutes. Across the lot in 1-ish, through the crowds in two, then up the second floor…definitely doable.

As she stepped through the main doors and merged with the bustling horde of students, she heard the squealing voice of none other than, Maya Jenkins. "Ohmygawd!! JOSIE!! Is that you?! Did you get taller? OH! Contacts AND no more braces?! Yay!! You're like a whole new person!!

Josie took a deep breath, and braced herself for the side tackle-hug Maya engulfed her in. Smiling affectionately, she jokingly pried her off, "Aw, thanks Maya, and I see you're energetic as ever! Let's walk and talk, I think I have Spanish IV first hour." As she reached into her bag, to verify with her printed schedule, Maya was spouting updates at 100 mph. Out of the randomness, Josie noted that there was 1) a new hot guy in their grade, but Maya didn't get his name and 2) Maya shared the same lunch hour, as well as English and Art classes with her.

When the two reached the end of the hallway, they agreed to touch back at lunch and parted ways. Josie headed towards the stairwell and took the steps two at a time. With seconds to spare, she jogged toward Señora Velasquez's classroom, clearing the doorway just as the final attendance bell rang. Whew, nothing to it. Josie took a seat at one of the empty desks closest to the door, near the front of class. As she scanned the room, she noticed a group of students crowded near the far back corner, along the windows.

"¡Buenos días a todos! Siéntese por favor. Siéntese," Señora happily announced.

As the crowd of students reluctantly parted, and took their seats, Josie caught a glimpse of what had to be the new student. She gathered that he was most likely an athlete. Probably Wrestling, or Soccer, just based on his stockier build. Though, Football wasn't out of the question either. Probably just another asshole jock. Whatev's. Upon settling into her desk though, the back of her mind seemed to be trying to get her attention: Take another look, take another look. She shook her head, and pulled her notebook out instead. Last thing she wanted to do was to be caught staring.

Señora Velasquez, started taking roll call, and Josie began figuring out the logistics of her schedule for the semester. Which classes she could blow off, which classes she had to push harder in, what time frames she had to finish homework. The drone of a name being called, and a student responding "Here", getting lost in her train of thought.

"Mariah Halloway?"
"Here."

"Johnathan Harris?"
"Here."

"Liam Hayes?"
"Presente. ¿Cómo está esta mañana, Señora?"

Josie froze as she heard the last name called, and her stomach dropped as recognition set in. Even as her mind tried to rationalize that she could've misheard the name that was called, or the minute possibility of there being another Liam Hayes, embarrassing memories from Middle School began to wash over her.

If it is him, he probably won't remember me. It's been like, five years since we even talked.

"Jennifer Mallory?"
"Here."

"Kyle Medina?"
"Here."

"Josephine Montecillo…Josefina? Ah, there you are. I knew I saw you slip in as the final bell rung," Señora knowingly smiled, and continued.

Josie had quietly responded "Here", at the Spanish call of her name. She felt like she was being stared at from behind, but she didn't look back. Sweeping her hair over her shoulder, in an act to cover her face, she decided to busy herself with sketching. At least she was close to the door, so she could bolt outta there fast.

 

[LiveFromKorea]

Second Chances (closed to TheOneThatGotAway)

Liam Hayes.
Age: 18.

"I'm going already!" Liam exclaimed to his Mother as he left his house. Liam was a bit perturbed at the whole situation, "Senior year and I get to go to a new school, way to pretty much ruin what should be the best year of my life," he said to himself as he walked to his black 2001 Chevy S-10.

"Oh, but you already know people, you've only been out of this school for five years, honey!" Liam continued to mock his mothers words and tone his entire drive to high school, which admittedly was a nice short drive. "Oooh, and you look SOOO handsome in that uniform!" The mocking continued. Although he actually enjoyed dressing in the Khaki Slacks with a White Oxford button down that the school required, he wouldn't let his mother know that; as far as she would ever know he hated everything about this school.

His mother didn't want to move either, but when the Rockford Academy wrestling coach and athletic director came by and told his mother he would had a full scholarship to one of the most prestigious schools in the area she had to say yes. Liam knew what she was doing, he knew she wanted him to go to college, but he didn't see what the big deal was. He was just going to go to community college and would figure things out from there anyway.

"Ugh, school. Fucking politics. Fucking society. Fucking star status academia. Who gives a shit how I do in high school, I smoke these asses on the mat and on every test and they're better than me because they do homework? Fuck 'em." He rambled on to himself as he cruised through the parking lot of Rockford Academy trying to find a parking spot, and being 0500 he had his choice of spots. In fact there were only 3 other cars in the parking lot, he assumed at least one of them belonged to his new wrestling coach, Coach Cael.

He hopped out of his truck and grabbed his duffel bag with his jump rope, wrestling shoes, protein powder, shaker bottle, towel, soap, shampoo and of course his uniform. "Well, let's go shake off the cob webs," he mumbled to himself before putting his head down and heading into Rockford. "Cob webs," he thought to himself, "there hasn't been more than three days in a row I haven't trained since I was walking..." He grinned as he reached the doors and saw Coach Cael pulling into the parking lot.

---------

"Spanish class first period, and I'm supposed to stay awake for this shit? iAye Dios mio!" Liam again muttered out loud to himself quickly followed by, "I really need to find someone to talk to other than myself. Soon." Liam took his seat, having his pick being the first one in class, a common occurrence for Liam. Being prompt was something his mother and his coaches had instilled in him since he was a little kid. Sticking to commitments; being on time all the time; hard work pays off; be polite; be a good person. All of these voices in his head reminded him of this constantly, he's not sure he could be late somewhere if he wanted to be. He definitely let Coach Cael hear it earlier when he was late.

Liam noticed all the looks as people began walking into class, he was the new guy after all, but he wondered how many of them would recognize him from five years earlier. That was a lifetime ago...

He was amazed at how many people were strolling in so late to class. "I wonder if their parents know how close they're cutting it in this overpriced 'academia elitist tower.' I bet daddy wouldn't be too happy with you all." Another grin crossed his face. He looked up at the clock, eager to start the day so that he could get on with another workout this afternoon. Then he saw a blur into the room as a girl snagged a seat right by the door. "Lucky," Liam thought to himself as the bell finished ringing.

"¡Buenos días a todos! Siéntese por favor. Siéntese," the teacher called out too loudly for so early in the morning before proceeding with roll call.

"Mariah Halloway?"
"Here."

"Jonathan Harris?"
"Here."

"Liam Hayes?"
"Presente. ¿Cómo está esta mañana, Señora?"

A simple smile answered his question from the teacher. Of course he also received couple awkward looks and smirks from some of his class mates, not that he cared. "Be polite" rang in his head.

"Jennifer Mallory?"
"Here."

"Kyle Medina?"
"Here."

"Josephine Montecillo?...Josefina? Ah, there you are. I knew I saw you slip in as the final bell rung," Señora knowingly smiled, and continued.

Liam was in stunned. "JOSIE? JOSIE is the slacker?? Holy shit has she changed..."

 

[TheOneThatGotAway]

5 Years Ago / 6th Grade
Emily Donahue's Basement

Josie bit her lower lip in quiet excitement as she realized it was her turn. She crawled toward the center of the circle, and poised her fingers around the glass Coca-Cola bottle. Turning her wrist a quarter of the way to the left, she held for half a second, before quickly flicking right and sending the bottle into a dizzying spin.

Stop at Liam, stop at Liam…c'mon…

The circle of 20 or so teenagers watched the spinning bottle, in a trance. With bated breath, they waited patiently for it to stop. As the bottle slowed, the open end pointed directly towards the young boy with short brown hair, and dark green eyes. The circle of teens going into a collective "Ooooh", before going into individual giggles and taunts.

Josie was elated. Liam, not so much.

She had been nursing a crush on him since 2nd grade, enjoying the times they spoke when they sat next to one another in class and the games they played during recess or gym. Josie saw this as a chance to express herself to him without anyone around. However, as she subtly reached to hold his hand, while they were being ushered into the closet, his evading hand made her second guess herself.

Her floral dress was suddenly too tight, her braces too thick, her make-up too much. As they stood nearly on top of each other in the dark, tiny closet, Josie broke the silence first, "Seven minutes, right? We don't have to do anything, really. What a dumb game..." she trailed off laughing nervously.

"Yeah, definitely dumb," he responded unenthused. Maybe even irritated.
A stretch of uncomfortable silence, filled the small space, becoming an entity all on its own.

"Have you played this before?", she finally asked.
"Yeah, a few times," he answered cooly.
"Oh."
Another stretch of silence.

Josie figured 5 minutes had to have passed by now. She took a chance, and slowly rested her hands on his shoulders. When he didn't flinch, she figured "now or never", and leaned in to kiss him.

"What're you d-? N-no. No way, I can't." Her lips had barely grazed his before he abruptly pulled away, scrambling to open the door. When it opened, her eyes squinted to adjust to the light, as she heard Liam exclaim, "It's gonna take more than a stupid game to get me to make out with a girl like her."
----------
Five years later, and she could still remember the devastation she felt, and the utter embarrassment as she was laughed at. Quite the defining moment as to where she stood in the caste system of popularity.

Señora's voice cut through Josie's trip down memory lane, "Josefina, por favor, lea las instrucciones de la página 126 en voz alta."

Josie cleared her throat, and answered "Si, Señora," without missing a beat, and read the instructions for the class's first Spanish assignment.

So far, her first day of Senior year was becoming quite the drag.
----------
During Homeroom, the 15 minute period between 1st and 2nd hour when general announcements were made, locker assignments were passed out. She looked at her small sheet of paper: Locker #207 / Combination: 32, 8, 26.

As the 'End of Homeroom' bell rang, the class nearly stampeded out the door; everyone eager to get to their newly assigned locker to drop their things off, and personalize their space. One glance at the shoulder-to-shoulder students trying to figure their combinations, and Josie huffed, "Eff that," deciding to head straight to Advanced Computer Science instead.

Curiosity got the best of her though, and she lingered just long enough to notice Liam had locker #208 open, and was chatting it up with one of the cheerleaders. Touché Universe. Touché...

She headed towards the computer lab, hopeful 2nd hour would be more relaxing. Since it was a well known blow off class, chances were high that it would be. As Josie stepped through the doorway, and greeted Mr. Williams good morning, she found her usual computer in the corner of the room open, and made herself comfortable.

 

[LiveFromKorea]

Holy legs... Maybe this school was a good change Liam thought to himself as he chatted up with Wendy who had introduced herself as Co-Captain of the Cheer Squad before the end of class bell even stopped ringing. She was blonde, with a nice figure, a skirt that somehow managed to pass the dress code, and a button down that probably could have used one more button clasped, not that Liam was complaining.

"So where did you say this next class was?" Liam asked, legitimately trying to edge the conversation to something other than Wendy and how "super totally awesome" everything in her life was. Liam was like any other guy in high school, horny and appreciative of any girls who wanted to show a little skin; but he had a thing for real people, kind people, generous people. He often gave his weekends to children's wrestling clinics. He didn't have much to offer in the form of money or other valuable skills, but one thing he could do was wrestle, and man could he wrestle. His way of paying it forward was to give his time to children who couldn't afford the best wrestling camps with the best coaches almost every weekend.

He had been doing this since he was 14, he started going to the clinics each week for extra practice with his new coach when he changed school. Even at 14 he quickly realized how much he enjoyed helping out the less fortunate and as he grew he just came to dislike narcissism and apathy in the world.

Why can't everyone just help one another out? Why can't we all be our brother's keepers?

"Wendy... Wendy... I hate to interrupt, but I think class is about to start. I'd love to hear about your shoes another time, but where did you say this class was?" Wendy hadn't even slowed down talking when he asked her the same question a moment ago, let alone stopped to answer him. She was quickly becoming less attractive. She finally answered him, pointing down the hall.

A quick smile and wink and Liam was off to his next class. Advanced Computer Science, at least this is something useful in life. He walked into the class, head up to find a desk, and there she was... Or was she? Josie? He hadn't been able to get a great look at her in Spanish class, but...

What are you doing, dumbass, breathe! He could feel himself turning flush in the face, but he grabbed a seat he was near and tossed his bag at the side of his desk. It's just Josie, dude, chill! Trying to calm himself down he repeated this to himself over and over. He was more than aware that he would likely bump into Josie again, they had been friends when they were kids. Had been. Until that stupid party.

Liam had almost completely forgotten about the party until Coach Cael and the Athletic Director came to his house and discussed him transferring to Rockford Academy. Suddenly he remembered Josie and how he had almost single handedly ruined their friendship by freaking out and running out of the closet. Peer pressure, adolescence, and the fear of being ridiculed by his friends had caused him to freak out in the closet. He had to make sure no one thought he actually kissed metal mouth!

What an asshole... I almost hope she still hates me...

He took a deep breath, as if he was getting ready for one of the biggest wrestling matches of his life, turned his head back and to the left corner of the class room, waiting to catch her eye. It was time to wave and say hi, maybe they could chat after class or something, he couldn't go all year with this thing weighing on his mind. He may as well deal with it head on.

So he kept looking, and waiting... And waiting... What is she doing in her notebook? Class hasn't even started yet, it's the first day of school she's not doing homework... She has to look eventually... I can wait as long as she can.

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*

"Alright, class, everyone's eyes up front!" Liam looked forward to see "Mr. Williams" written carefully across the dry erase board.

So much for that.

 

[TheOneThatGotAway]

Just as Josie was getting situated at her desk, she caught Liam entering the classroom out of the corner of her eye. She almost immediately turned her head the opposite direction, as if the white walls had suddenly captivated her with the utmost level of fascination.

Her brows knit together in frustration. God, c'mon! He's in this class with me too? Wasn't there pre-req's and signatures needed to take this class? Ugh. Looking for some sort of distraction, she pulled her notebook out of her bag and continued on her earlier sketch of a Chocobo. She found that when she buried herself into her notebooks, people usually left her alone.

This time however, a feeling of dread came over her as her seemingly fail-proof plan to avoid people was in danger of being compromised. Liam took his seat, just a few chairs away, and was looking at her.

Josie wanted nothing more than to curl into a small, small ball and disappear. Instead, she swept her hair over her shoulder, and hid, turning herself slightly away. She knew she was acting like a coward, and hated herself for it. Minutes seemed to pass, and he was still looking at her, as if gauging whether or not to say something, or even worse, approach her.

Please dear God, don't make this any more uncomfortable than it has to be.

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*

Saved by the bell. Josie let out a breath she hadn't realized she was even holding, thankful to hear Mr. Williams direct the class' attention to the front. She continued to sketch as he went over the syllabus and rules for his class, which led to him elaborating (nerding out, really) on Java, arrays and algorithms, and standard data structures. For the most part, he was pretty lax with students, but could drop the hammer if his class, or a student for that matter, got out of hand.

After he finished taking everyone through their personal login, explaining the school's firewall system, taking a moment to pass out books, and answer initial questions, there was still a good 15 minutes left in class. Which he generously allowed for the students to socialize, or browse the adjacent library.

Don't have to tell me twice!

She slid her notebook into her bag, and nearly leapt out of her seat, stalking out of the room like she was on a mission. "I'll be in the library Mr. Williams, thank you," she said softly as she exited, not bothering to wait for his reply.

There was no mistaking the wash of relief that came over her as she disappeared amongst the vast book aisles.

 

[LiveFromKorea]

"Jos..."

Shit...

Liam wanted to chase after her and talk to her. He had changed, he didn't care so much about being the "cool guy" or having a "cool rep." He had actually grown up and found that he enjoyed being himself regardless of how other people viewed him. He also found, somewhat ironically, that having this matured outlook somehow increased his popularity amongst the "cool kids." It has its advantages, but he often found himself bored of the conversation or activities that the "cool kids" were involved in; he was also way too busy with wrestling to live spur of the moment as the "cool kids" all did.

He couldn't chase her though, not for his sake, but for hers. He didn't want any undue attention being brought on her, he wasn't sure if she had changed or if she was still the shy girl that he knew years ago. He couldn't take that risk of embarrassing her more than her already did at that stupid party playing that stupid game.

I need to talk to her, but I can't force it... I just want to apologize.

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*

Maybe I can figure this out in gym... At least burn off some of this frustration on the mat. I need to focus on wrestling right now anyway...

Liam headed off to his next class, one of his two PE sessions he had on his schedule thanks to his hectic two previous years worth of scheduled classes. He was thankful for his previous coach, Coach Campbell, who had explained just how important his senior year of wrestling would be and how it would behoove Liam to keep the senior year class load light.

"Behoove," what kind of wrestling coach talks like that to his wrestlers? A smart one, that's who.

This was the first time Liam allowed himself to admit he was worried about this year's wrestling season. Coach Campbell had prepared him so well for each of his opponents in previous years, to the point where Liam could almost predict the entire match before he stepped onto the mat. Coach Campbell had notes and tapes of all of the best wrestlers from the State, but he knew the coaches in his Section so well that he knew what their wrestlers would be looking for.

I'm going to have to spend a lot of extra time doing my own tape work this year I guess. I suppose all those extra classes the last few years really did behoove me after all... Liam couldn't help by laugh to himself.

 

[TheOneThatGotAway]

As the bell signaled the end of 2nd period, Josie made her way out of the maze of book aisles, and headed toward the Science wing for her Anatomy and Physiology class. Upon turning down the hall, she heard a familiar voice.

"Dang! Hot for tutor!"

Josie turned her head to see Reggie Miles, one of the students she had tutored last year. He was a Freshman at the time, playing just about every school sport imaginable, and failing at almost every one of his classes. With Josie's help though, he was able to manage a C-average by the end of the year.

She smiled, and laughed before turning back and heading towards her class.

"Mmm, girl, the summer was good to you!" Reggie exclaimed appreciatively, his voice carrying down the hall, and over the bustle of students.

Josie was shaking her head, as a blush began to tint her cheeks. Quite the charmer, that one."Thanks, Reg!" she yelled back to him.

"Are you gonna be tutoring me again this year?" he asked, not hiding the hopeful tone in his voice.

"You shouldn't need my help this year, but if you do, just set it up with Mrs. Lassiter. And, don't fail your classes just to spend time with me! There's better ways to go about that," she replied smiling, and stepped into class.
---------
Josie was still smiling when she settled into her seat for 3rd hour. It felt good to be noticed. Funny what dropping 15 lbs, losing the braces and glasses, and a little make-up could do for a girl's self-esteem. I'm still the same person inside. Stupid how superficial people can be, but I guess that's just how the world works.

She sighed in relief as she noticed Liam wasn't in this class. It was starting to look like she was going to go through the rest of the day, with a level of paranoia centered around his potential presence in her classes. Great.

If she could have her way, she'd avoid Liam Hayes, at all costs, for the rest of her life.

 

[LiveFromKorea]

At least the lunches here are an improvement.

Liam was happy to be at lunch. He actually didn't mind his protein shakes so much, but he was also a bit self-conscious about his shaker cup. He hated the whole jock stereotype being applied to him and he felt like the shaker cup just bit completely into that image. It was a necessary evil though, he couldn't gnaw on chicken breast and steak strips all day long.

"Two breasts, please." Liam said respectfully to the older yet attractive woman serving him.

"Yeah, he wants your breasts!" Someone blurted out from down the food line.

Liam was embarrassed for himself and for the woman serving food. As he went to say something he saw Ben, one of the guys he recognized from Coach Cael's house where he was introduced to everyone on the team. He was the new guy on the team and wasn't out to make any enemies, the season was long enough as it was, but he didn't want to leave the remark unattended.

"Yeah, two breasts for me. Maybe if you made the early workouts you'd be hungry too." Liam smirked as he turned his back, scanned his lunch card, and walked to a table to sit by himself, but not before muttering, "Fucking douche bag..." Liam began scanning the cafeteria to see the different cliques that this school had; people watching was one of his favorite activities.

Cool kids - Yep, there they are, predictably in the corner all the way across the room. No doubt so they can keep an eye on everyone who comes in and make smart ass comments as loudly as possible for their own amusement.

Emo - Don't see you guys, I'm going to guess you're outside talking about how horrible life is and how your parents don't understand you... While listening to your iPods your parents bought you.

Druggies - Hmm... Difficult one. Upscale school and the uniform rule makes it difficult to pinpoint you guys... But if I had to guess I'd say it was that table over there, where everyone is huddled up whispering like the government is listening to them.

Jocks - Gee, could it be the guys who are wearing their jackets in 90 degree weather and making the most noise possible?

Nerds/Geeks - Yeah, 'cause laptops at lunch aren't a dead give away...

Floaters - You'll take a week or two to pinpoint...

Who else is... Josie, of course you'd be here when I'm here...

Liam got up, finished with his food, and looked for where to drop his tray off, but couldn't find anywhere. Fortunately for Liam a kind, and fairly cute, brunette looked over from the table he had deemed the "nerds and geeks."

"Hey, new guy," she said playfully with a bright smile, "Just leave your tray and they will come pick it up."

Liam was caught slightly off guard, expecting the nerds and geeks to be anti-social, or at least socially awkward. "Oh. Well if that isn't frustrating. So someone is expected to clean up after me? Sorry, I don't mean to seem ungrateful."

"Well, thanks. I appreciate you helping me out..." Liam paused, as if waiting for her to say her name.

"You're welcome, new guy." She winked and then turned her back to him.

Just then Liam spotted an employee taking trays into a room just off of the cafeteria and putting them on a shelf. So he took his tray over to the room and put it right there next to the rest of the dirty trays.

"Oooooh, what's this?" He heard from the far corner of the cafeteria, "So you wrestle AND you're working here? So that's how you're paying for Rockford?" Laughter erupted from the Cool Kids section. Liam looked over to where he saw Josie earlier and briefly saw her look at him. He quickly left the cafeteria and headed to his locker.

Yep, cool kids... Kids.

 

[TheOneThatGotAway]

5 weeks later

A little over a month into the semester and Josie began to feel that maybe the Universe was finally listening to her. Aside from a few awkward moments of eye contact with Liam, their paths barely crossed.

Things seemed to be going well. Josie felt she had a good handle of her class schedule. She was able to adjust her work hours at the drive-in, so she could manage her time for homework and studying. Volleyball season was going smoothly for the most part; they were winning and their team was solid with a stacked team of Seniors, but the position for starting Libero was still up for grabs between her and another teammate. If she could only move a little bit faster, cut her reaction time...

"Josie," Mr. Jacobs called out, "Mr. Chapman wants to see you in his office." He said, as he handed her the note that had been delivered by the student aide.

She looked at the note quizzically as she placed her drawing easel on one of the tables. Maya peered over her shoulder and taunted, "Ooooh, someone's in trouble!" resulting in Josie playfully pushing her friend's face away. "What do you think the Athletic Director wants?" Maya asked. "Who knows. Only one way to find out though, right?" Josie said, as she left the classroom.

Josephine walked purposefully down the halls towards Mr. Chapman's office. Her mind analyzing a billion possibilities of why he would be calling her in. It shouldn't be anything academically related. Maybe it's something to do with the volleyball team. Or maybe he's looking for student athletes interested in community service hours... She looked at the note again, mid-stride, trying to see if there was some sort of clue to hint at why her presence was being requested. Which was all the distraction needed to slam right into someone.

There was a split second where she thought she may have seen stars. It was like she had collided with a brick wall. Her first reaction was to grab onto something to save her balance, which ended up being the person's upper arms. As soon as her brain registered what happened, she was frantically apologizing. "Oh, geezus! I'm so sorry! My mind was elsewhere, and I rounded that corner so fast without paying attention..."

Josie's voice trailed off as she looked up and recognized the wall she barreled into was Liam. She tried her best to school her look of bewilderment to something more calm, but failed. Her eyes finally taking in their fill of him. He had changed so much from when she last saw him: taller, broader, at least 6' and probably around the 180 lbs mark, if she had to guess. Solid muscle, no doubt. Quite the contrast from the lithe boy she used to play with.

Her hands instinctively squeezed his arms, as if to validate her thoughts, before abruptly pulling away. Josie felt the faintest tint of a blush starting at her cheeks, and cleared her throat before genuinely asking, "You ok?"

 

[LiveFromKorea]

"I'm fine. Are you ok?" Liam asked, giving Josie a look over to ensure her balance was solid before he moved along.

Liam knew that Josie wasn't comfortable around him anymore, and he also knew how shy she was when she was younger and still wasn't sure if that had changed or not. Because of that, Liam made a concerted effort to avoid Josie these last few weeks to make her more comfortable at school, and it had worked. Until now.

After decided Josie looked like she was fine, Liam moved on. "I better get going. Take care, Josie..." His voice trailed as he quickly walked off and moved along to class, talking to himself as usual.

"I can't believe they're going to suspend me from the team because of my grades. High school grades. Seriously? These classes are a joke... And now I have to get a tutor and sit through extra class after school and practice just to appease some jack ass in an office? Whatever..."

Liam walked into class quite suddenly, completely interrupting the teacher mid-lecture. "Sorry... I didn't mean to inter..." Liam was cut off at this point, "It's fine, Mr. Hayes, just have a seat please. Now, where was I..." The lecture continued, but Liam was still tuned out, he was far too annoyed to concentrate and just wanted to hit the gym next period. He wanted to work on his sit-out technique anyway; the more technically proficient he got, the faster he could move, the better he would feel going in to the season. Not to mention it would completely wipe his mind of his current academic situation.

45 minutes there he was, on the mat in the corner of the gym with the occasional odd glance from other students as he worked to perfect his technique. He couldn't though. He was having a hard time concentrating, and it wasn't his academics any longer. He was thinking about Josie squeezing his arms and wondering why she did that, "Did she mean to do it? Does it even mean anything? ... Ugh, shut up and work, jack ass." So he closed his eyes, took a slow deep breath, and released even more slowly, only then he resumed his practice.

 

[TheOneThatGotAway]

As Josie opened the door to leave the Athletic Director's office, she felt like she was walking through the haze of a bad dream. The final bell and the end of the day announcements droning through the PA system barely registered in her mind.

She tried pinching herself a few times to see if she'd wake up. Much to her dismay, it didn't seem to be working.

Mr. Chapman, had asked to meet with her and Mrs. Lassiter to speak about setting up peer tutor sessions for a student athlete whose grades were low. Poor grades meant an athlete's ability to play was on the line. He was adamant about having the student start as soon as possible. As in, after school today. Both Mr. Chapman and Mrs. Lassiter selected Josie as the potential tutor because of her previous successes working with other student athletes.

She was flattered by their praise, and grateful to have her work recognized. She was even excited about the idea of being able to help another student. That was up until the student's name was revealed.

New student transfer. Senior. Wrestling team.

Liam Hayes. AKA the brick wall she smashed into minutes ago.

Of course.

Josie found a seat at one of the empty library tables, and set her things down. She looked around, and nodded to a few of her fellow tutors that were seated nearby. Even as she tried to busy herself with her own homework, the tension was rolling off of her in waves.

She nearly jumped out of her skin, when Mrs. Lassiter came up from behind her, "Hi Josie, oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you! This is Liam, the new student you'll be tutoring. You've met him right?"

Josie stood, up and extended her hand, shaking Liam's firmly when he did the same. "Yeah, he's in a few of my classes," she replied. Plastering a smile that dripped saccharine for Mrs. Lassiter's benefit, she followed up with, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Liam."

"Oh, good! That will makes things easier for you to work together and touch base. Well, I'll let you two get situated, get to know each other and discuss classes and each other's availability." Mrs. Lassiter, glanced at her watch, " Josie, I need to leave early today. Can you oversee the tutors?"

"Yes, of course! I'll make sure everyone checks in," Josie studiously replied.

"Fantastic. Just update me tomorrow with the usual," and with that, Mrs. Lassiter left the Student Peer Tutor Group in Josie's hands.

"Will do!" Josie took her seat then, and waited a few moments to pass so that Mrs. Lassiter was out of earshot and well on her way off campus. She looked at Liam then, both of them staring at the other for a good few seconds, before Josie decided to break the silence.

"Yeah, this isn't going to work," she smiled sardonically, as she continued to write notes for the rough draft of her English paper.